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BGMEA, the apex body of the Bangladeshi apparel sector decided to create a central workers' database in view of the disasters that claimed several lives last year. However, the initiative is getting poor response with only 270 out of the country's 3,500 existing apparel units so far getting listed with the central workers' database since it was launched in May, 2013.
The readymade garment (RMG) workers' central database is aimed to automate the apparel industry and its all employees using latest technology. Since database creation is an expensive project, the small and medium garment factory owners are hesitant to get listed on the workers' database. Industry body does not expect more than 500 unites to get registered by the end of this year.
In 2008, the BGMEA officially announced it would make a central workers' database. However, it did not move beyond the announcement level. The database has become a serious issue to ensure safety and legality of a factory following the tragedies like fire and building collapse in the country. On March 9, 2013, BGEMA, the platform of apparel makers signed two memorandums of understanding (MoU) with Information Solutions (ISL) and Systech-Tiger IT on issuance of digital Certificate of Origin (CoO) and biometric identity to RMG workers.
www.bgmea.com.bd
Clothing companies from developed countries who implement international ethical standards when investing in Myanmar will be competing with Asian companies who ignore such norms. The OECD’s (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) guidelines for multinational enterprises, which includes responsible business conduct, could promote responsible investment in the counrtry.
However, the Burmese government is unlikely to insist on OECD standards being used by companies from non-OECD countries working there. For instance Chinese or Thai companies can’t be made to abide by OECD standards. Major Myanmar investors China and Thailand are not OECD members.
Traditionally, social responsibility has not been a part of business activities in Myanmar. Challenges for investors in Myanmar include the need for improved transportation infrastructure and the complex process of clearing land and property rights. Companies have struggled to set up a supply chain in the country. There is a gap between what international companies want and what local producers are able to offer, in part because of the extra cost to meet these standards. So some firms have taken it upon themselves to work with human rights groups and local organisations to train local suppliers about responsible business conduct. Myanmar is in fact keen to adopt higher standards and attract foreign investment.
Nearly 100 members of the Secondary Materials and Recycled Textiles Association (SMART), the Bureau of International Recycling’s Textiles Division (BIR), and the Council for Textile Recycling (CTR) held the first International Textile Recycling Summit (ITRS) at the Fontainebleau Hotel on Miami Beach. Attendees discussed industry trends, concerns, and emerging markets.
The three organizations represented profit textile recycling companies, non-profit organizations involved in textile recycling, apparel manufacturers, representatives from academia, and governmental agencies, all of which are focused on recycling, especially used clothing and textiles.
In addition to the conference seminars and panel discussions the organizations presented the Leadership in Sustainable Apparel - Recycling Innovator Award to Cotton Inc for their ‘Blue Jeans Go Green’ program. Since its inception, Blue Jeans Go Green program has diverted over 600 tons of denim out of landfills. To date, more than two million sq. ft. of Ultratouch denim home insulation has been generated from the denim recovered under the program.
Panel discussions held during ITRS included: discussions on global sustainability of the clothing industry and reuse and recycling as seen from the perspective of clothing manufacturers and retailers. Other panel discussions focused on the challenges of the core industry of used clothing collection, reclaimed wipers and fiber conversion and global trends, and innovations in the used clothing/textile recycling industry.
www.smartasn.org
Preview in Seoul 2014 (PIS) will be held September 3 to 5, 2014. The exhibition will experience a new turning point this year as diverse changes are coming about including a new location, framework, and concepts. PIS has become Korea’s professional textile exhibition. The first exhibition was in 2000. From 2005, PIS is being held every year.
The Korea Federation of Textile Industries has organized a strategy committee with participating exhibitors, buyers, exhibition agencies, consulting firms, and other related experts who will decide on upgrading the exhibition. PIS started as a textile exhibition in Korea has now become a one stop sourcing for domestic and international yarns and materials, apparel enterprises, various subsidiary companies, and digital print companies. It endeavors to become a professional exhibition that can offer innovative and unique fashion and textile trends.
PIS 2014 will consist of the fast growing international outdoor market and will display Premium Outdoor Section and Powerful Apparel Sourcing Section to target Chinese brands. The Korean outdoor market is estimated to be the second largest in the world. Various Chinese brands will join PIS to enlarge their market share. The exhibition will feature new technology, material, fashion trends, seminars and an outdoor fashion show.
www.previewinseoul.com/
The United States has excluded Swaziland from the list of countries eligible to get benefit under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). A team from the US examined Swaziland’s record with respect to workers’ rights and safety and came to this conclusion. Swaziland located in southern part of Africa will be denied AGOA coverage from January 2015.
AGOA is a US preferential trade program established in May 2000 that provides duty-free access to thousands of products from eligible sub-Saharan African countries. The program offers tangible incentives to sub-Saharan African countries for undertaking difficult political and economic reforms that promote long-term growth and development.
Swaziland came into AGOA in 2001. The Swazi government accepted AGOA eligibility criteria, which include respect for the rule of law, poverty reduction, combating corruption, respect for worker rights and human rights, child labor protection, and market openness.
Swaziland is Africa’s last absolute monarchy. The garment and textile industry in the country employs about 17,000 people, several of whom may now become unemployed as the garments made by them cannot be exported duty free to the US, with the withdrawal of AGOA benefit. The US still hopes to continue engaging Swaziland on steps it can take for treating worker and civil society groups with respect and consideration so that AGOA eligibility can be restored.
trade.gov/agoa/
Clothing retailer Woolworths is offering jeans made of cotton and recycled plastic bottles. It recently launched Re:Cycled, a range of men’s jeans that contain at least 12 recycled 500 ml plastic bottles. Woolworths works with suppliers to manufacture jeans made with recycled materials. Each pair of jeans contains 65 per cent cotton sourced from various African countries. The remaining 35 per cent of the fabric is polyester made from recycled plastic bottles. This process uses eco-chemicals, reduces water usage by 67 per cent and reduces energy use by 62 per cent, enhancing environmental benefits.
Denim for the jeans is made in Mauritius, where the garments are finished and packed to South Africa. The production process has also been streamlined to lessen its environmental impact. In the past, a pair of jeans, from the beginning of making the fabric to the end product, used 90 liters of water. Now that process uses 35 liters of water.
Denim is considered to be a heavy pollutant in terms of garment manufacturing. It wastes a lot of water. Two years back Levi’s introduced denim made with polyester that comprises recycled plastic bottles. The principle of using recycled goods in clothing manufacture has already taken root with big brands and major fashion labels.
South Korea's trade deficit with China in textiles and clothing reached $1.43 billion in the first five months of this year due mainly to the inflow of cheap goods. In the January-May period, South Korea imported $2.47 billion worth of goods and shipped some $1.04 billion in clothing and textiles. The size of the deficit is 39.8 per cent of the deficit posted for the whole of last year. Since 2002, South Korea has logged a trade deficit with its neighbor.
The chronic trade imbalance stems from cheap Chinese goods making steady inroads into the local market and from moves by South Korean clothing manufacturers that set up operations in China in the past, transferring their production centers to Southeast Asia. Such developments reduced the shipments of yarn, textiles and half-finished products to China. Once made into clothing, these products were shipped to third countries.
The changes caused Vietnam to emerge as South Korea’s top export market for textiles. Up till May of this year, the Southeast Asian market accounted for 16.5 per cent of total textile exports, surpassing China's 15.6 per cent. However, China remains an attractive market with considerable growth potential.
Invista, owner of the Lycra brand, is searching for the designers of the future. For the third year, the Lycra Future Designers Award will be presented at the WGSN Global Fashion Awards in November to a student or graduate who demonstrates outstanding, unique design and innovation talent.
The Lycra Future Designers Award is now inviting entries from the designers. The winning designer will get an opportunity to work with expert mentors at Invista and receive a prize to help the winner invest in a business plan, press and fabrics with Lycra fibre to support the creation of the winning collection. The company is on the lookout for a designer, who can bring fresh ideas, vision and inspiration to the market. To enter, participants must submit designs, including sketches, mood-boards and other supporting material, for a minimum of four and a maximum of six pieces/looks that could be manufactured using Lycra fibre brand products. At least three of the pieces/looks must be intimate apparel, swimwear, active sportswear or hosiery/tights categories.
WGSN 2014 Global Fashion Awards will be judged by a panel of global experts, set to be announced in June. Previous judges included industry influencers Giles Deacon, Stephen Jones, Rankin and Laura Bailey.
The International Woolmark Prize has announced the panel of judges for the India and Middle East regional final round to be held in Mumbai on July 3. The judges will decide which two emerging fashion brands will go through to the global final for the men’s wear and women’s wear categories.
The India and Middle East regional final judging panel includes: Imran Amed, Founder and Editor, The Business of Fashion, Anthony Kendal, Global Communications Director, mytheresa.com Peter Ackroyd, Global Strategic Advisor, The Woolmark Company, Priyanka Khanna, Senior Fashion Features Editor, Vogue India and Rahul Mishra, 2013/14 International Woolmark Prize winner.
The 2014/15 edition of the International Woolmark Prize sees the competition extended to include a men’s wear award. Two finalists will be selected from each region – one for men’s wear and one for women’s wear. The five men’s wear finalists will meet at London Collections: Men in January 2015 and the five women’s wear finalists will meet in Beijing in March 2015. The five regional awards will be held in Tokyo, Sydney, Paris, Mumbai and New York.
www.woolmarkprize.com
Central America is increasingly nervous about Vietnam's participation in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade talks, with some experts claiming its inclusion could bring losses of around $6 billion to its bread-winning textiles and apparel sector. An early entrant to the highly controversial, 12-country free trade accord, Vietnam wants flexible rules of origin and zero trade duties as soon as it is signed.
But Central American and US textile executives claim that would be a disaster, robbing the five Central American countries and the Dominican Republic, which make up the DR-CAFTA free-trade zone with the US, of 25 per cent of their exports during the TPP's first year.
In 2013, DR-CAFTA (Dominican Republic-Central American Free Trade Agreement) countries exported $7.8 billion worth of apparel to the US. Based on that figure, if Vietnam enters the TPP under its request for a non-yarn forward rule, export losses could total nearly $6 billion in the first three years of the TPP.
DR-CAFTA members have teamed with US textile lobbies to ask US Congress to pressure Vietnam to accept a yarn-forward rule of origin forcing it to limit sourcing from the TPP bloc. The partners are also asking that zero tariff benefits would be granted over a number of years.
